n.taylor – Page 2

The Season of Three Permits: Trip 1

May 30, 2021 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

This year has proven to be one most fortunate for me. Having not drawn a permit yet again I was fortunate to be invited on three. The first of which was the Rio Chama in late May. The drive was beautiful as the landscape transitioned from high desert, to the Conejos Canyon, over Cumbres Pass and finally into Chama New Mexico.

Conejos Canyon on the way to Chama New Mexico — *Conejos Canyon*

The Chama is nestled in a green valley of sedimentary rock, with thick stands of Ponderosa, Douglas-Fir, Cottonwood and many others. The divorcee who runs the lodge at the put in (his ex-wife runs the campground) was nice, albeit seemingly cognitively limited by what one would imagine was a lifetime of alcoholism.

The rain began at 5 am on our launch day. I know this because I was sleeping uncovered on the ground next to the boat. The rain didn’t stop for over 12 hours. While there are plenty of campsites and you are not limited by a number of days on the permit we moved quickly in order to reach Chama Wall.

Hot Springs near Rio Nurtrias — *Hot Springs on Rio Chama*

Chama Wall was advertised as one of the best campsites along the wilderness section of river. The sandstone cliff opposite the river towered over our campsite. The sunsets in the evening brought all the colors of the sandstone out of the massive canyon face.

View from Chama Wall campsite — *Chama Wall*

This campsite is fantastic. You could sleep 15+ people here as there are plenty of campsites both close to the water and then on the terrace above the main landing area. This was the first time I had brought the “cowboy wok” on a river trip. Being as they are made by a veteran in Albuquerque it was only fitting to break it in on a New Mexico river trip.

Boat parking for Chama Wall campsite — *Landing for Chama Wall*

We took a layover day, and with it, the opportunity to fish Salmonflies & Caddis.

Not far after Chama Wall the canyon gave way to the desert. The gradient slowed and from the river you got a great view of The Monastery of Christ in the Desert.

As a final note, I’d like to thank the state of New Mexico for installing bollards in the middle of a quarter million dollar boat ramp so it is un-useable. What we needed was a good two hours of de-rigging before the drive home.

River of Sorrows

June 18, 2019 by n.taylor 2 Comments

El Rio de Nuestra Señora de Dolores, River of Our Lady of Sorrows, now commonly referred to simply as “The Dolores”.

The history of this river is as extensive and depressing as the name(s) would suggest. Explored in 1765 it has been the lifeblood of humans for thousands of years in the area. Today we grow lots of alfalfa and divert nearly the entire river basin for that purpose. With the construction of McPhee Dam in the late 1980’s the river and it’s history were written yet again. Today, when water managers allow, you can put in at Bradfield Bridge. An area that seems dilapidated, only because of the lack of use in the last twenty or so years.

Originally one of the west’s great multi-day trips, it is now a trip that occurs only during particularly wet weather cycles in the basin. You may only have the opportunity to run this river once or twice in a decade. If you do get the opportunity it will be on incredibly short notice (sometimes just days or a week) as the reservoir must legally fill, and then “spill” the excess inflows in order to make boatable flows.

2019 was not supposed to be one of those years. Particularly wet spring conditions dramatically altered the runoff projections. Water managers scrambled to adjust their calculations as unprecedented weather patterns took hold in Southern Colorado. For those not living here, we had two feet of snow fall on Rabbit Ear’s Pass on the summer solstice…

While we put on the river with flows approaching 1200 CFS, typically the flows range from 40-75 CFS. Fishing and recreation are all but a memory below McPhee, as such the facilities reflect the sterility of the water itself.

Campsites were hard to find, all of them having seen infrequent use since the late 1980’s. Most of them were overgrown and unrecognizable.

The most famous stretch of this river is Snaggletooth Rapid. When the river would run free, Snaggletooth was a name that would give even the most experienced boaters pause. It was a barometer, a test of ones skill. At one point the Dolores was the most heavily used whitewater run in the state of Colorado. Check out this footage from Rig to Flip. Amazing stuff.

High Water- Snaggletooth 1983- Dolores River
Think you've run all the Big #WhiteWater out West? Not Likely… Rare footage of the Dolores raging 1983. This footage was all shot alongside Snaggletooth Rapid by an unknown camera outfit who made the edit your seeing here. It survived to us by the hands of long time boaters who love the Dolores and knew it well before the dam. The footage is nearly a full 30 minutes, over 26 different runs of the highest water ever recorded on film of Snaggletooth Rapid. You won't find this anywhere else. #rigtoflipColorado American Whitewater Patagonia Dolores River Boating Advocates Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office History Colorado NRS Astral Osprey Packs Bureau of Reclamation Bureau of Land Management – Colorado Bill Dvorak Jack's Plastic Welding Patagonia Telluride Upper Colorado River Private Boaters Assoc. Colorado Whitewater Association Stitches 'N Stuff Down River Equipment
Posted by Rig To Flip on Wednesday, February 15, 2017

The opportunity was one that I would not let pass. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I will go again when the chance occurs. Rafting down the Dolores was being surrounded by immense beauty, and at the same time, immense sadness. I hope that someday my children will be able to run this river, with far greater frequency that we are afforded today.

South Fork Pt. 2: We Went Fishing

July 22, 2018 by n.taylor Leave a Comment

We awoke at our borrowed cabin space and prepared a quick breakfast using some of the supplies on hand. We patiently waited to see if our pack train would arrive, and it seemed as though all hope had been lost when we saw them in the distance trudging forward. While they’re lack of timeliness and propensity to elicit anxiety consumed us all night, the pure elation of their arrival quickly diminished all of our previous contention.

Better Late than Never

Morning Breakfast

We bandaged up the feet of those who were exhibiting the wounds of the day before and prepared for the short 5 mile jaunt to the waters edge. One among us needed no such bandages, and his secret was his old golf shoes.

Elite Footwear

The trip from this point forward wasn’t about hiking, it was about fishing, and for the next few days we did a lot of fishing.

Parachute Adams

Magic Hour

Beer Break

Lots of These

Fish Food

Fishing From the Gear Boat

Westslope Cutt

Obligatory Hero Shot

Captain Whitey

More Magic Hour

Fumble

The evenings were filled with food and drink, watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. A place without a road for 60 miles in any direction gives you an odd sense of freedom, and we cherished every moment of it. We would eventually stop at the Big Prairie Ranger Station and begin the second half of our journey. The small stream we were floating down would soon turn into a real river, and with it came people that we had come to forget the first few days. The upper section of the trip will occupy a special place in the minds of everyone, and will be the reason for a return. Our final camp on the upper half other river was poetic, a large beach on a dramatic bend of the river. The night was filled with laughter and alcohol, the only surviving memory a grainy photograph of all of us together. Just as it should be.

Home for the Night

A Night to Remember